Emily is ready to raise awareness about ASD, in English or Spanish! She has done many TV appearances, as well as newspaper and radio interviews. In the future we will some articles and media coverage to this site.
Read more about recent leadership projects and service:
President, Autism Society of America Los Angeles Chapter. Leadership position since 2006 in autism advocacy organization.
Program developer, project manager, and lead trainer of the Autism Society-Los Angeles Police Department Autism Awareness Training, 2007-present. Providing training for Los Angeles Police Department Officers, to recognize and respond effectively to individuals with autism. More than 3,000 trained to date.
Subject Matter Expert, State of California POST Autism Awareness Training Video, Spring 2009 (Peace Officer Standards and Training). Selected as 1 of 8 civilians to help create the law enforcement training materials on autism for the state of California, mandated by SB1513.
Senate Select Committee Taskforce on Equity and Diversity, 2012-2013.
Statewide leader making policy and legislative recommendations promoting equity for underserved communities and cultural competence to work with diverse families in the Regional Center System.
Senate Select Committee on Autism, 2009-present. Chairman of the North Los Angeles work group on education and employment for adults with autism spectrum disorders. Also addressing issues of diagnosis, insurance, eligibility and access to appropriate services and supports. Los Angeles County delegate to the Community of Practice Autism Advisory Workgroup on Transition & Employment, 2011.
California Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism, 2007. Member of the Transition Task Force drafting state legislative recommendations for teens and adults with autism, including SB1513 mandating creation of autism awareness materials for law enforcement organizations.
Founding member and Chairman of C.L.E.A.R., Community and Law Enforcement Aware Response, 2003-present; Project Manager effective 2008. Created a computerized Special Needs Registry to assist the public served by the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department, Santa Clarita Station, recognized in 2011 as a national model by the Department of Homeland Security. Train Santa Clarita Valley Sheriffs to recognize and respond to individuals with autism.
Founding Member, Board of Directors, Santa Clarita Autism Asperger Network (SCAAN). Leader and advocate in local autism support group, 1995- present. Provide support for families and encourage collaboration with autism groups, and support organizations and service providers.
Collaborating with local law enforcement agencies is a key to safety in the community. Emily is grateful for the many years she has worked with LAPD professionals as the Autism Awareness Project Manager for the Autism Society of Los Angeles (a volunteer position!). Training thousands of police about ASD was also a chance to learn about the police perspective on safety. This led to the idea of directly training young people with ASD to understand and use safe behaviors when interacting with the police. The LAPD-ASLA Autism Symposium is a tremendous event that combines experiential learning for the police, and a relaxed, fun atmosphere for students and law enforcement professionals to get to know one another. BE SAFE the movie was also inspired by this work.
Training the Police to recognize and respond to people with ASD is one part of the safety solution. Safety training for people with ASD is the other ESSENTIAL piece of the puzzle. Visit www.BeSafeTheMovie.com for more information about the new video modeling curriculum for those with ASD and related conditions.
Emily is an independent consultant and presents on a variety of topics at conferences in both English and Spanish all over the U.S., and in Latin America.Topics include Reading Comprehension and ASD; Adult issues such as sexuality, work and college; skills for safety and independence, and social skills.
Book A Guided Tour on Drawing A Blank, a full day training based on the only book 100% dedicated to ASD and comprehension!
Readers with ASD need explicit teaching to address significant comprehension challenges. This is especially true for readers with hyperlexia, who decode with ease but struggle to understand. Understanding the complex, exceptional needs of this population is central to any efforts to address the difficulties. When it comes to intervention, we cannot assume that what works for readers who do not have ASD will be effective for readers with ASD.
Drawing a Blank presents research-based strategies and promising practices to inspire parents, teachers and specialists searching for effective ways to intervene with readers on the spectrum.
Book a day-long Guided Tour of Drawing A Blank! Every participant at the workshop receives a copy of the book, and personal guidance from the author to explore all six chapters. Participants will understand the multiple developmental differences in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) that contribute to problems with reading comprehension. Effective methods for intervention that are informed by research and specifically tailored to the needs of readers on the spectrum of all ages are explored, including hands-on activities.
The workshop is designed for parents, teachers, specialists, educational therapists and others who work with students with ASD of all ages in general and special education settings. The prevention of comprehension problems is addressed for students in grades K-3, and the presentation focuses on remediation of specific comprehension issues for students from about grade 4 and up.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will:
1. Understand how multiple developmental factors in Autism Spectrum Disorders contribute to problems with reading comprehension, even for those who “read” well.
2. Become familiar with research that defines the nature and scope of the comprehension breakdown in readers with ASD.
3. Identify at least 15 reading comprehension skills that must be explicitly taught to learners with ASD.
4. Explore the positive and negative findings from research on comprehension interventions for readers with ASD.
5. Learn and practice at least 4 targeted interventions to improve comprehension.
6. Share strategies and resources and reflect on experiences with these learners.
Drawing A Blank is available from AAPC Publishers.
For more information, contact Emily using the form below, or leave a Voice Message at 661-347-8557.
Contact Emily for consultation, training or projects!
Recent Projects Include:
Mission Possible: Created experiential learning activities, materials and practice opportunities to teach young people with autism and other disabilities how to interact safely with the police, an ASLA-LAPD project.
Awareness in a Box: Author of hands-on curriculum for an experience-based autism awareness and social inclusion program.
Tierra del Sol Foundation: Develop and present ongoing training for 230 staff working with adults with autism and developmental disabilities across the spectrum in home, community, and academic settings. Provide consultation and recommendations for specific client needs.
University of Wisconsin, Madison: Co-author of curriculum for Spanish-speaking parents, By Understanding Autism, I Can Better Understand My Child. This project, using the culturally-competent promotora model, raises awareness of child development milestones and provides personalized autism support to an underserved community.
National Inclusion Project: Develop curricular material for inclusive service learning in camp and recreation settings, LEAP Forward: Learn. Experience. Achieve. Play. A Service Learning Curriculum to Foster Greater Inclusion.
Fiesta Educativa: Develop and present autism education curriculum for parents of newly-diagnosed children, in English and Spanish.
Bubel-Aiken Foundation: Development of Together We Make a Difference Inclusive Service Learning (ISL) curricula for elementary, junior high and high school students.
University of Minnesota Institute on Community Integration: California State Representative of the Yes I Can Program for Social Inclusion. Provided support and training to junior high and high school staff to implement the model inclusion program.
Custom Webinars include Cultural Competence for Easter Seals National Office, Play Development for Lekotek, Safety Skills for Autism Now